hey guys. Ive been thinking (I know thats dangerous but I just cant help it )

Hopefully I'll be looking at a cheap bike as a commuter this weekend. nothing special, just an old raleigh. but it needs new tyres.

Now Ive got a dilemma, the bike will be used to get me to work and back (20 miles a day) and as such I want tyres suited for the road. however I also want tyres that would be suitable if I wanted to take the long way home across the trails (light dirt and gravel). so basically are there any suggestions as to a good choice that will be good for the road yet can handle the light offroad terrain as well.

I dont want anything expensive as its for a £30 bike so even budget tyres would suffice. (ideally £20 a pair tops) Been thinking about just fitting slicks but I like offroad riding too much

cheers

_________________I got told when the shed isn't big enough for all of my bikes, I have to get rid of some....I got another shed

ooh and they have 1.8. that's something I forgot to mention. Ideally looking around 1.75 width so they would be perfect. never had folding tyres before (always just used what I had lying around but not got any spares at the moment)

_________________I got told when the shed isn't big enough for all of my bikes, I have to get rid of some....I got another shed

My riding conditions are pretty much how you describe. Double Fighters are a good choice, but a little more "bumpy" on tarmac asthey have a pretty pronounced tread. Michelin XC Hard Terrain aren't too bad - high volume tyre so very comfy.

Kenda Small Block 8 are a surprisingly good all rounder. Schwalbe Sammy Slick for the fastest rolling on tarmac but they loose tractionvery sharply on loose gravel - neither of these are cheap BTW but are very lightweight. Right now on my commuter I'm using Maxis Overdrive Kevlar and they work surprisingly good for light off-road in dry conditions.

Bear in mind, best of both worlds also means not particularly good at anything unfortunately. I've found opting for something more suited to tarmac with the penalty of loss of traction on the rough stuff where I would take it easy anyway.

_________________Favorite quote on Retrobike: Not worth the petrol to take it to the tip so it's down to the angle grinder to make it small enough to put in the wheely bin.

Ordered a pair of Continental Traffic for a pal a few months back. They are specified exactly according to your needs. I found them very smooth and quiet rolling on the tar when I had a go. A wee bit over your budget but certainly worth considering as they look like they will last for ages. They are offered in 1.9 and 2.1.

Joined: Wed Apr 12, 2006 12:33 pmPosts: 11108Location: The Home Of Mountain Biking, And All Great Things.

I would go for a road orientated tyre given a long commute, and adopt a drifting style on the occasional off road jaunt. Why the restriction on dimensions? A larger volume tyre pumped up hard can be a fast road tyre, yet you could drop the pressure for the off road sections, and the larger volume tyre will protect much better against pinch flats.

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